


give me love || niam au

by pajamas



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-02-05 15:20:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1823149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pajamas/pseuds/pajamas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>a fic in which niall has two kids that he's trying to raise on his own, and liam is his colleague, and liam realizes that niall is exactly what he's been needing all along. and he's determined to make sure niall knows this, too.</p><p>--</p><p>this is a niam fic because ouch niam feels and also i've gotten really into writing fics in all lowercase (blame runaway) so that will happen now.</p><p>this is also on my wattpad. didn't steal it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

this is coming soon. i'm going to have my chapters all posted so that they're the same as my wattpad chapters.


	2. 01

"rosie!" niall called frustratedly, having chased his nearly five-year-old daughter in and out of her bedroom four times already, and it was only 7:15 in the morning. "rosie, baby, please, daddy's tired, and i've got a looooong day ahead of me."

"then don't go," rosie sassed, peeking her head out from around the corner.

"rosie, out of kai's room, now," niall said sharply. the baby was still sleeping, and niall wanted to keep it that way.

rosie slunk out of her little brother's room, pouting. niall carefully poked his head inside and sighed deeply in relief; kairos was still asleep.

"c'mere, sweet pea," niall said gently, scooping the little girl up in his arms. she smiled at her father and kissed his cheek.

"hi, daddy," she said cheerfully. niall couldn't understand how someone could be such a morning person at four years old, but that was just rosie, he supposed.

"hi, baby," he said back. "what do you wanna wear today, hun?"

rosie pursed her lips, clearly deep in thought. "can we match, daddy?"

"sure," niall chuckled. rosie was happiest when she was doing things just like her father, and they both had a shirt with the irish flag on it, dark wash jeans, and a pair of black converse. he put her down so she could get dressed. "i'll be back in two minutes, ro. if you're not dressed-"

"i _know,_ daddy," rosie huffed. "i get put in timeout."

niall winked at her. "good girl." she smiled back and he walked down the hallway and opened the door to kairos' room. 

kairos had just turned two and would only speak to niall and rosie. he was remarkably smart and adored his father.

"daddy!" kairos cooed. he was standing up in his crib, clutching at the wooden bars, but when he saw his father, he reached for him.

"hey, little guy," niall smiled. he scooped his son up and kissed his little button nose, causing kairos to giggle and kick his chubby legs.

"potty," kairos whined, squirming in niall's arms, and niall quickly put him down. kairos toddled over to the kiddie potty that was in the corner of his room and beamed at his father when he was done.

"good job, bub!" niall cheered, and kairos giggled as niall kissed his face.

sure, they were a handful, but niall loved his kids.


	3. 02

"daddy, it's 7:42, and i haven't had breakfast," rosie called to her father, who was trying to dress a squirming kairos.

"babe, there are pop-tarts on the lowest shelf of the cabinet. can you have one of those, please? i'll make you an awesome lunch, i promise." niall finally managed to get the shoe on kairos' tiny foot and sighed in relief. 

rosie glared at her father from the doorway, but then pursed her lips and went down the stairs to eat her pop-tart.

"rosie has school?" kairos asked niall, and he pressed a gentle kiss against his son's cheek before swinging him onto his hip.

"yes, she does, buddy," niall hummed as he went down the steps. he entered the kitchen and half-chuckled, half-grimaced when he saw rosie eating her pop-tart, covered in crumbs. 

"why?" kairos asked as niall plopped him in his high chair.

niall sighed. "because that's what big kids have to do." kairos' questions were endless, and niall did not have the patience for that at the moment.

kairos pouted. "i'm big kid," he whined.

"no, you're not," rosie retorted through a mouthful of pop-tart, and stuck her tongue out at kairos. niall didn't see it, though, because he was hurriedly making rosie's lunch. kairos started to whine, and niall didn't even have to look up; he just knew.

"rosie, keep your tongue in your mouth or i'll cut it off," he said teasingly, waving a butter knife at her. she giggled but went back to her pop-tart, and niall gave her and kairos both half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "you can eat in the car, okay?" he said, scooping kairos out of his high chair and putting him on the ground. rosie grabbed her backpack and scampered off to the car.

"up," kairos whined, reaching for his father, brunette hair flopping into his eye.

"i can't, babe, i'm carrying too much stuff!" niall's hands were full with rosie's lunch (that she'd just left on the table), kairos' diaper bag, and his own bag for work. 

kairos pouted but walked out to the minivan. his pout increased when niall picked him up to buckle him in, but he couldn't help but giggle when niall leaned in and peppered kisses on his nose. 

"love you," kairos hummed, smiling, eyes scrunched up at the corners just like his mother's used to, and niall had to close his eyes to keep from sobbing.

"i love you, too, baby," niall smiled, but his heart was heavy and his eyes were glassy and he was silent as he walked around the car to get in the driver's seat.

* * *  
"have a good day, love," niall called to rosie as she scrambled out of the car to go to kindergarten. "hey! wait!" he called as she started run straight to her classroom.

rosie rolled her eyes, something that made her look exactly like her mother, but she bounced back over to the car anyway.

"give me a kiss," he said, and she wrinkled her nose up at him.

_"daddy-"_

"if you don't give me a kiss, i'll show all of your friends in room 4b my dance moves," niall warned, and rosie immediately pulled the car door open and kissed her father's cheek. "here's your lunch," he said, and gave her the bag.

"thanks, daddy. i love you," rosie grinned and waved goodbye.

"i love you too," he called. he always felt a bit sad dropping rosie off to kindergarten, because he knew it meant she was growing up. she was so bright that he was always incredibly proud of her.

* * *  
"daddy, kai-kai no want school," kairos whined when niall helped him out of the car. "want to stay with you."

niall's heart melted. "don't worry, kai, i get off of work early today, so i can come pick you up sooner." kairos' face lit up. "there's the smile daddy loves!"

kairos giggled when niall picked him up and kissed the little boy all over his face.

"be good today, okay?" niall said when he put kairos down in the daycare.

"you, too, daddy," kairos giggled, and ran off to play.

"i'll be back at three," niall told the caretaker, louis, who smiled back at him. louis was one of niall's best friends in the world.

"okay. see you later, ni." 

"bye, lou."

* * *  
somehow, niall made it to work right as the clock hit 9:00, and he had no idea how. he was already exhausted and had just sat down in his desk chair when his boss called for a staff meeting.

niall was the assistant to the ceo of a major banker. he had a desk right outside his office and answered phone calls and such. it was the most boring job in the world, if he was honest, but it paid decently and had benefits, so he wasn't complaining.

he trudged his way to the conference room and sat in the chair nearest the door so that he could escape when need be.

"okay," his boss began, and the room silenced immediately. niall didn't like his boss very much; he was intimidating and cold and treated his employees like shit. "it's time you all knew that i'm resigning. i'm stepping down. i have given many hours of my life to this company, but it's time for me to move on, so i'm handing the company down to my son. liam?" niall's boss turned to the doorway and then niall saw him.

his amused half-smile and his warm brown eyes and his hair and niall was overwhelmed with want for this man. this was weird for him, too, because these feelings had been switched off after his wife, erin, had died. he hadn't felt desire in two years.

then liam's eyes met niall's, and niall stopped breathing.


	4. 03

"niall," niall's ex-boss said, crossing the room to put a hand on niall's shoulder and a hand on liam's. "this your new boss and my son, liam."

"pleased to meet you," liam said in a deep, warm voice, and it was all niall had inside him to keep from shivering in delight. 

"the pleasure is mine," niall said back politely, putting his hand in liam's. he looked up to look back over at his ex-boss, but the mischief in liam's gaze stopped him. he couldn't help but blush bright red to the very roots of his hair, and foolishly hoped that liam hadn't noticed.

judging by the smirk on his face, though, he definitely had.

"so...did you catch all of that, niall?" niall's ex-boss asked, and niall blinked a few times and looked his ex-boss in the eye.

"oh, um...yes. yes, sir, i did," niall said, even though he hadn't heard a single word that he'd said. liam chuckled softly, knowing this, and niall made a face at him. he had worked way too hard to throw it all away because his new boss was hot. 

"okay, so, liam, niall, you guys can follow me. niall, i'm going to show liam where his office is. liam, niall's desk is right outside your office." liam's father hadn't even noticed that liam wasn't listening at all. he didn't care. it'd only been, like, three minutes, and he was already entranced by this beautiful, blonde man. 

niall sat at his desk outside of liam's office, and he could hear liam and his father's conversation clear as day.

"so...niall, how long has he been working here?" liam asked his father.

"about six years," mr. payne responded, "he's diligent, a very hard worker, and will do whatever you ask in order to make you happy. he has to leave every day at three and fridays at one-thirty."

"why?"

"he has two kids, four and two."

"he's married," liam said slowly, and niall smiled a little at the sound of disappointment in his tone.

"no. not anymore," mr. payne replied, "right after niall's son, kairos, was born, his wife started having brutal headaches. they went to the doctor and found out she had a tumor the size of a golf ball on her brain. she died within a few months."

niall bowed his head. it was still too soon to talk about erin's death so casually, and his stomach churned.

"that's awful," liam said quietly, and niall was surprised to hear real empathy in his tone. 

"yeah, well, that's life," mr. payne said.

"his poor kids, too," liam murmured, and niall felt a rush of compassion towards this kind man. 

a few minutes later, liam and mr. payne were leaving their office, and as he passed, liam put a gentle hand on niall's shoulder. liam knew niall could hear them, and it was the kindest way to express his condolences without words. niall was able to give him a semi-watery smile. 

* * *  
"have a good rest of your day, mr. payne," niall said, poking his head into liam's office. he was doing something on his computer and grinned at niall.

"you, too, niall. and please, call me liam."

"okay. have a good night."

niall got into his car and was astonished to find that he was humming. he was humming and drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, and he suddenly was painfully aware that he hadn't done thay since erin's death.

slightly somber, he parked at the daycare and went inside to get kairos.

"DADDY!" the two year old screeched delightedly, and ran across the center to hug niall's legs. "up, daddy! want up!"

niall bent to scoop his toddler up and kissed his cheeks. 

"how was he today?" niall asked louis, and louis grinned.

"perfect, as always. he even went in the potty without daddy there, didn't you, kai?"

kai giggled proudly, and how could niall not smile at the sound?

"how was your day? you don't look dead tired today," louis smiled, and to his surprise, niall blushed. "niall horan! you're blushing! what the he -" louis caught himself, "what the hecky happened?"

"i'll call you later," niall smiled, and louis grumbled.

* * *  
"daddy, we watched mulan at school today and she's a girl-boy princess," rosie explained to niall as he plated the grilled cheese they were having for dinner.

"how so?" niall asked, scanning his brain for the details of that film but unable to remember.

"don't you remember, daddy?" niall shook his head. "she has to fight to save china! so she says she's a boy and changes her name to ping!"

"ohhh, right," niall nodded. "and then she marries li shang, right?"

"uh-huh." rosie dug into her grilled cheese. "you're the best daddy ever."

"yeah," kairos agreed, covered in cheese. niall just smiled.


	5. 04

niall was awakened by soft giggles and a tiny hand poking at his face. he sat up and blinked tiredly.

“huh, what is it?” he asked groggily, rubbing at his eyes, and he heard rosie giggle.

“daddy, your alarm clock has been yelling for ages,” she half-whined, and suddenly niall was very, very awake. he glanced over at the clock, horrified to see that it was 8:15. he shot out of bed and into the bathroom, speeding through his routine, and then hurried downstairs to sit rosie down with a bowl of cereal.

“eat quickly, princess,” he pleaded as he sped back up the stairs to get kairos ready for daycare. 

luckily for niall, when he made it back downstairs, rosie was slurping up the last dregs of milk from her bowl and kairos was whining that he wasn’t hungry because it was cookie day at daycare and he wanted to be hungry for that. so niall hustled his kids into the car and dropped rosie off at school.

“daddy,” rosie cried as she climbed out of the car. “you forgot to make my lunch!”

“aw, sweet pea, i’m so sorry,” he said softly, genuinely so, and rosie just gave him a half smile.

“it’s okay. connor will share with me.” she gave her daddy a huge kiss on the cheek and ran off to class.

“have a good day!” niall called after her, and she smiled and turned around and waved.

* * *  
when niall finally made it to work (he had to deal with a clingy kairos, begging him to take him to work because, “you’re better than the cookies, daddy!”) he let out a deep sigh as he sank into his seat.

“long night?” liam’s voice asked from behind, startling him. niall jumped and put a hand over his rapidly beating heart. “sorry, i didn’t mean to scare you.” liam had a seat on the corner of niall’s desk, a mere few inches away. niall’s heart rate sped up.

“oh, um, that’s okay,” niall said, suddenly slightly shy. “um, is there anything i can get for you, mr. payne?”

liam scowled. “mr. payne’s my father.”

niall fought to keep from smiling. “sorry. liam, then, is there anything i can get you, liam?”

lima’s face brightened. “no, niall, that’s okay. i just wanted to talk to you.”

“talk to me?” niall paled. what did that mean? was he losing his job? “what about?”

“i just want to get to know my employees, i want you all to be comfortable with me as your boss.”

“um…okay,” niall said quietly, playing with his fingers. he didn’t know how to act around this man, his boss, whom he was so obviously attracted to.

“so tell me about you,” liam said softly, and niall froze, because where do you even start?

“i…i don’t know what to say. i’m a widower with two beautiful children. i would give up the sky for them.”

“what are their names?” liam asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

“rosie and kairos,” niall said, a smile forming on his lips just at the thought of his kids.

“what are they like?”

“oh - well, rosie, she’s full of spunk. a sassy little thing, way too sassy to only be four years old. how can such a tiny being be so bitter?” he shook his head fondly. “she’s so like her mother, though. when she rolls her eyes, she looks just like her. knocks me dead on my ass every time.” niall’s smile grew sad. “and kai. he’s only two, still practically a baby, you know, but he’s so smart. really shy, he’ll only talk to rosie and me, but his vocabulary is extensive and he’s extremely affectionate. today he told me, ‘you’re better than cookies, daddy!’”

liam chuckled lightly. he loved asking people what they were passionate about, seeing the way their eyes lit up when they talked about things that were important to them. “i would like to meet them sometime.”

niall’s eyebrows shot up and he beamed. “yeah? you’d let me bring them in one day?”

liam smiled. “i’d do just about anything to make you smile, mr horan."

niall blushed a thorough red, which made his attraction to liam as obvious as if he’d gotten it tattooed across his forehead. “what about you, liam?”

“what about me?”

“what’s important to you? what do you tell people about?”

liam’s expression grew quizzical as he tried to think of something he was that passionate about. something he loved as much as niall loved his kids.

“i don’t know,” he said, sounding genuinely surprised. “i…i don’t think i’ve ever had anything i’ve ever loved that much.”

“then i’m going to help you,” niall said decidedly. “that’s gonna be my job, liam. i’m going to help you find what you’re passionate about."


	6. 05

“that’s your goal?” liam smiled, “you’re going to help me find my dream?”

“yep,” niall said firmly.

“so you’re the romantic type,” liam said teasingly, but his eyes were gentle, warm.

“i guess so. i didn’t realize optimism and romanticism were in the same category, but i’m not the boss.” niall gave liam a cheeky wink, and liam’s smile spread across his face.

“such sass,” liam teased, and niall grinned back. “all right, niall, i’ll let you get back to work, but don’t think i’m weird if i randomly pop out here and ask you weird questions.”

niall laughed. “okay, liam.”

liam left and went back into his office, shutting the door behind him, and niall curled up into a little ball in his seat, fighting to keep from squealing. nobody had made him feel this warm since erin, and it was so nice to be able to feel something besides sadness again.

that thought sobered him up. he wasn’t gay, and he couldn’t be thinking about a man in this way when he had two kids who needed his full attention all of the time. besides, liam would never be interested in a guy with two kids. nobody ever was. 

niall’s smile sagged. no, he was destined to be alone forever. he’d had his chance with love, and it had been beautiful. he didn’t regret a minute of the time he’d had with erin, not a minute, and he wouldn’t give it up for anything. his kids were his last memory, his tribute to her, and he had to do right by them for her. he had to.

that thought made niall cry. he was doubled over in his desk crying now, sobbing, sad because he was happy, as backwards as that was.

* * *  
“you never called me,” louis said, irritated, when niall came to pick kairos up.

“i’m sorry, lou,” niall apologized sincerely. 

“tell me what happened now.”

“louis –“

“no, niall, i know you won’t call me later. you always say you will, but you and i both know you won’t. you never do, so spit it out, horan.”

niall sighed. kairos was clutching the end of his shirt as if to make sure that niall wasn’t going anywhere, but was also distractedly trying to reach a barbie on the floor without letting niall go.

“i’ve got a new boss,” niall said.

“okay…?” louis responded, not understanding what was important about that.

“he’s hot,” niall continued, and louis’ face lit up.

“oh, he is?” louis smirked a little, bouncing on his heels. “niall, that’s good! it’s been a long time, a long, long time since you’ve smiled like that. you like him.”

niall winced. “louis, it’s still too soon.”

“ni, it’s been nearly three years. erin wouldn’t want you to be unhappy and alone like this, you know she wouldn’t.”

niall legitimately cringed at the sound of her name. “i’ll see you tomorrow, louis.”

louis grabbed his arm before he could leave. “niall, i’m trying to help you. you’ve been alone for too long. you push everyone away. how long has it been since you’ve talked to zayn? or harry? they miss you, ni, i know they do.”

niall bit his lip, guilt eating him up. “maybe you’re right…maybe…maybe i’ll call them when i get home.”

“that’s the spirit!” louis beamed. 

“bye, lou,” niall smiled, turning to leave, but then stopped. “you…you wouldn’t want to come over for dinner, would you, lou?”

louis’ smile widened. “i’d love to!”

yeah, things are changing, niall thought. things are changing and it’s liam’s fault. i’m not necessarily unhappy about it.

* * *  
“guess who’s here?” niall asked rosie as she bounced out to the car.

rosie looked surprised. “someone’s coming over?”

“yeah, baby,” niall chuckled. “guess who?”

“uh…dunno.”

“surprise!” louis yelled from the passenger seat, popping his head forward so that rosie could see him.

“uncle louis!” rosie yelled happily, and squealed, jumping up and down. “uncle louis! uncle louis’ coming over, daddy!?”

“that’s right, baby girl,” niall smiled.

“come give your uncle louis a hug!” louis called, and rosie scampered around the car happily, yanking the door open and scrambling into louis’ lap.

“hi, uncle louis!” she yelled happily, her tiny hands clutching at lou’s shirt.

niall couldn’t help but smile, too. it’d been a long time since he’d seen rosie so happy.

maybe i deserve to be happy, too, he thought.


End file.
